[Video #27] from http://www.youtube.com/user/MetalGuruMessiah the address for MetalGuruMessiah's Musical Paint Box! Check out my other videos!
The 27th video in my series is a live version of The Band's song "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" which was originally released on their 1969 debut album, The Band.
The version in the video is actually from The Last Waltz concert from 1976. I originally worked the video to the original version, but changed to the live one later on and neglected to change the album art in the opening and closing credits to reflect that change (it would be immediately corrected were it not for certain hassles involved with re-uploading).
I like both versions of the song equally well, but the applause in the live version seemed to add another dimension to the images and as a bonus the live version was a bit longer allowing for more images. Levon Helms vocals are absolutely perfect....truly one of the greatest folk/rock singers of all time. I've always been a huge fan of The Band, in great part to Levon's extraordinary talent and contributions. UPDATE 04/18/12....Levon is very sick and is in the final stages of his battle with cancer. Having just recently lost my own father in the same way, I'm wishing Levon a peaceful exit from his tired physical vessel to a higher state of enlightenment and being. Levon has shined brightly for so many years and i'm going to miss him! Thanks for the happiness you brought into mine, and so many other's lives.......soon you will shine even brighter!
04/19/12 We lost Levon today. For many rock music fans, this was a hard one....a really hard one. Levon was just such an important and influential part of the rock music scene for five decades. It's just a really sad day for rock and roll to lose such an extraordinary talent.....a true legend. Thanks again for it all, Levon! I know you're wrapped in some of the warmth, peace & love you brought so many others while you were here with us!
This is a song about a confederate soldier named Virgil Caine and his days in the American Civil War. It is a very emotional and haunting narrative and has always been one of my all-time favorites.
In making these videos, sometimes you struggle to find good images to work with and sometimes you struggle to weed through good images.....this song was definitely one of those where images were no problem. There was just so much to work with!
Thought some actual bells ringing would add dramatically to the tune, so I found some that looked good (and more importantly, sounded right!) and added them in. Think they work pretty good, hope you don't mind the liberty with this classic!?
I think the video works well and I hope that maybe some younger people who might not ever listen to the song will get it's message with the images to help them along....and longtime fans can see in in a way they may or may not have played it in their mind when they listened to it.
The song is certainly not meant to be political it's simply a reflection on a historical period of America which was extraordinarily captured by the words and music of The Band.
I hope you enjoy.
[Lyrics]
Virgil Caine is the name and I served on the Danville train
'Til Stoneman's cavalry came and tore up the tracks again
In the winter of '65, we were hungry, just barely alive
By May the tenth, Richmond had fell
It's a time I remember, oh so well
The night they drove old Dixie down
And the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down
And the people were singing
They went, "La, la, la"
Back with my wife in Tennessee, when one day she called to me
"Virgil, quick, come see, there go the Robert E.Lee"
Now I don't mind choppin' wood, and I don't care if the money's no good
Ya take what ya need and ya leave the rest
But they should never have taken the very best
The night they drove old Dixie down
And the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the people were singing
They went, "La, la, la"
Like my father before me, I will work the land
And like my brother above me, who took a rebel stand
He was just eighteen, proud and brave, but a Yankee laid him in his grave
I swear by the mud below my feet
You can't raise a Caine back up when he's in defeat
The night they drove old Dixie down
And the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the people were singing
They went, "Na, na, na"
The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down
And the people were singing
They went, "Na, na, na"
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